Sea Tea Improv

Smash the Fourth Wall: Narration, Asides, and Soliloquies

Narration, Asides, and Soliloquies are thrilling theatrical elements that are highly underutilized in improv. But why? Not only are they impressive and exciting to an audience, they’re also great tools for clear communication, framing, and labeling amongst improvisers onstage. In this workshop, we’ll explore different types of narrators (such as omniscient, subjective, shared, solo, dual, and group) and how they can serve a scene and a set. We’ll use asides in scenework to communicate what our characters are really thinking and feeling when they might be saying something else. Finally, we’ll explore how soliloquies can create moments alone with the audience that are thrilling for everyone.

Above all, we’ll find joy in breaking the fourth wall - in a theatrical way, of course!

Instructor: Maria Nally

About the Instructor: Maria Nally (she/her) is an improviser, coach, and actor who has been performing in New York City for several years. In 2025, she made her Off-Broadway debut in The Others of Oz: The Improvised Musical, and performs musical improv regularly at The Magnet Theater with her house team Houndstooth. Maria has a BFA in Musical Theatre from Missouri State University where she studied with Lisa Brescia, Ann Marie Daehn, and Robert Westenberg, amongst others. Past roles (in case you’re curious) have included Sister Act (Sister Mary Robert), Legally Blonde (Vivienne Kensington), and lots of other classic high belters.

Offstage, she is a huge fan of Robert Caro. If you’ve read his books, she would love to talk with you about them. If you haven’t read his books, she highly recommends them.